Places of Interest

Contents Tree

Overview

The Jagged Peaks are a range of high craggy mountains that form the entire length of Albion's northern border. They are inhospitable and dangerous to the unwary traveller but there are passes through the mountains and tribes of intelligent people and creatures that scrape out a living on the slopes and in the valleys.

The Jagged Peaks are home to many creatures, both sentient and not so. Clans of human barbarians dot the landscape, interspersed with tribes of orcs. Some of these parties trade and have lose alliances, some are at war with one another. These alliances flicker and change, as fickle as a candle in the cold winds from the north.

Other even more uncivilised creatures inhabit the mountains. Mountain lions and ferocious cave bears are not uncommon, and some have been known to rip the arms and legs off a man as soon as look at him. On top of that there are places where the barbarians and orcs fear to tread, for the far northern peaks, the highest mountaintops, are the lairs of the trolls and giants who call this land home.

At the far western end of the range is the smoking volcano that men call Dragon's Perch. It was long the lair of Ashardalon the dragon, but he was vanquished in the Chaos Wars and no one knows who or what resides there now.

At the far eastern end of the Jagged Peaks stands the Mount Macarack Abbey, the only known library in the Kingdom. It is guarded by a chapter house of Knights of the Sun.

The eastern end of the Jagged Peaks has long been home to four tribes of orcs and three clans of barbarians. The orcs are called the Skullcrushers, the Limbrenders, the Darkdelvers and the Goblinsplitters. The barbarian clans are Clan Fireaxe, Clan Bladesong and Clan Icinghome.

At the present time the Clan Fireaxe and Clan Bladesong have been united under Sir Tor Bladesong, hero of the Chaos Wars. Clan Icinghome (the northern most of the three) has more to worry about with trolls and the like and has an easy alliance with both other tribes. Clan Bladesong are neighbours to the Skullcrusher orcs and are allied to them. Clan Fireaxe are allied to the Goblinspliters and as a result the Goblinsplitters and Skullcrushers are currently close allies with Sir Tor too, who is half orc in any event.

The other two orc tribes (the Darkdelvers and the Limbrenders) are neutral to this alliance at this stage, with some trading and not a little raiding going on between them and the other tribes and clans. There is a lose alliance between the Darkdelvers and the Limbrenders themselves. Sir Tor is working hard to bring all 7 tribes and clans under his control and it looks like he will soon achieve this through sheer strength of force if by no other means. His reputation here is fierce.